


When You Wish Upon A Fairy

by ribbons (hakanaii)



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fairy Tale, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-13
Updated: 2016-12-22
Packaged: 2018-09-08 07:28:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 12,630
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8835649
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hakanaii/pseuds/ribbons
Summary: The legend goes that when you capture a fairy you get one wish. The Hero only has one wish, to make the Mountain Fairy his Queen.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much to my lovely friend who beta'd this for me! It means a lot! Also, thank you to all the wonderful tumblr art that featured the hero and the fairy, it was a huge inspiration! There is some minor violence, but it's not descriptive.

* * *

 

Sometimes fairy tales don’t have a lesson, warning you of some grander social faux pas, the consequences of one's actions, or explain some universal truth in a magical, metaphorical way. Sometimes they’re just stories and they’re just about love. The love an ill-fated pair have for one another, or the love of a nymph for a self-absorbed man, or even the love of queen for the most noble of knights.

The story of the Mountain Fairy - Yuri - is no different. Though, on that fateful day when he descended the Mountain in search for the Fairy Prince Viktor, he did not intend to find love. He had only wanted the Prince to return to the Mountain in hopes to fulfil his promise, that when Yuri’s wings finally began to grow strong enough, Viktor would teach him to fly.

Since then, Prince Viktor had been enchanted, by a human Prince from a kingdom far below no less and had refused to return; he even gave up his wings! Or so the rumour goes. It made no difference to Yuri the rhyme or reason for the Prince’s departure as long as he kept his promise.

First, he had to find a way to leave the mountain in secret, as young fairies were prohibited from doing so. It had something to do with weak magic, wing strength, and a slew of obstacles awaiting them. However, Yuri was never one to really listen when Yakov, King of the Mountain, gave his warnings, nor did he care. Regardless of what could possibly harm him, he had to go.

Though the young fairy should have cared as the danger was not in what was waiting, but who.

So, on that fateful day, he snuck away at dusk, before the gusty gales swirled a hurricane of snow making the already forbidden task a daunting one. With a smug grin, he questioned what nonsense his King had sprouted about the obstacles below. There had been nothing to get in his way as he traveled down the winding path by foot.

He soon regretted his thoughts as the soles of his ghostly, pale feet touched the pebbles and dirt at the very end of the road. It hurt. A lot. And why was the ground so warm? Taking one step than another, in hopes to quench the pain, Yuri found that it only made it worse. With how much snow he’d always imagined the world below was just as soft and white. It wasn’t, but he wasn’t going to let that stop him. He needed Prince Viktor to make good on his promise from all those years ago. Yuri needed to learn how to fly or he’d never truly be a fairy.

So he pressed on.

As he followed the path he found himself in awe of the colours, smells, and the warmth that hugged him at every turn. He’d never seen any of this before. He had only ever heard stories of the world below. The Fairy had always assumed that the grassy, green plains and rolling hills, the sweltering deserts, and the glimmering Ice Castle that laid on the other side of the the damp forest weren’t _that_ different from his world of snow. There was an Ice Castle after all. This world, however was so drastically distinct from the Mountain, so much more interesting.

Maybe, just maybe, he could see why Prince Viktor didn’t want to return.

He almost found himself skipping along the dirt path now, as his feet had begun to become familiar with the grooves of the pebbles. His head looking up, admiring the big, lusciously green trees around him as they laid entangled around each other to surround him like a canopy as he travelled. Catching the rays of the sun as they peeked through the gaps in the thicket leaves Yuri’s cheeks to turn a rosy pink.

In the midst of his euphoria he had not realized how the dry path began to sink beneath his feet or how the air became thick and sticky, making his wings cling to one another like they were drenched. Nor had he taken notice of what lurked around the thin trees and slimy vines. _They_ had noticed him as he disturbed their peaceful slumber with his heavy foot falls. Large, yellow eyes followed the now twirling fairy as he came up close to the jungle trees to reach out for a stoic parrot sitting on a low branch.

The young fairy was absolutely gorgeous, most fairies were, but this one was particularly something special. All long limbs, white skin, blond hair, and thick lashes fluttering before deep green eyes. They doubted the fairy knew just how delicious it looked. With a lick of their sandpaper tongues across the speckled fur around their mouth and the gentle swish of their tails, the cats slowly climbed down from the trees where they perched on the highest branches for their mid-day nap.

Yuri jumped and hand snapped from where it fingered the wings of the rainbow bird when his pointed caught the sound of claws against the moistened bark. His green eyes widened in fear as these massive cats slowly, slinked to surround him. Their impossibly large cat eyes do not blink just stare with a hunger that chills Yuri down to his bones.

His heart began to wildly pound against his chest. Is this what Yakov was trying to warn him about? Damn! Why hadn’t he listened? He watched, fearfully, as they watched him. The cats were beginning to take steps closer, forming a tight encirclement around him. They were going to devour him, weren’t they? He was going to die, before he even learned to fly no less.

Fly...it was a long shot but the fairy could try. He just needed to get out of their arm span for just a moment, that would give him enough space to run. But run where? Glancing back at the way he came there was only that thick, canopy of trees, the Mountain far out of sight. Glancing head, there were that same thicket of never ending trees. However, amongst them was a grand structure made of what Yuri could only presume was ice with that way that it glimmered. But it was still so far away. Yuri tried to remember what Prince Viktor used to tell him, something about always looking forward. Why was it that whenever you needed advice you could never remember it?

Taking a deep breath, Yuri trusted in those ambiguous words as he attempted to flap his transparent wings with all his might they would not budge. Not an inch. They felt like lead instead of the thinnest of ice they were supposed to be. His muscles ached as he tried over and over to no avail.

A set of claws swished through the air as they swiped at him. Then another set. And another, this time the sharp bone dragging through the skin on his arm drawing a stomach curdling scream and deep, red droplets of blood. Gripping his arm with his other hand, Yuri sank to his knees on the jungle floor.

Another swipe of claws shreds the shimmering blue garment worn particularly by the mountain fairies. Then another pushes him into the mud, their paw holding him still as their muzzle comes dangerously close to his face. Yuri can just about count all their teeth when the skin pulls back in a wicked looking smile.

 _Damn wings. Damn Viktor._ He was going to die and it was all their fault. He flinched as sharp teeth grazed at the skin on his neck, he couldn’t watch!

Then all of a sudden he felt a dead weight on his chest and an unfamiliar, sticky warmth covering his face. Loud whimpering cries surrounded him along with the hurried steps of running animals. Daring to open his eyes just a peek, the fairy saw the large cat covering his body. It’s eyes vacant as blood pours from their slack-jawed mouth and over it’s teeth.

It’s dead? How? Had someone come to save him? Could Viktor have found _him_?

“Are you alright?” A voice that was distinctly not Viktor’s called to him. Shoving the bloody carcass of the animal off of him, Yuri sat up to come face to face with whoever it was.

  
If the fairy had words, they died on his tongue as he stared with astonishment at the man before him. His saviour was extraordinarily handsome with his sharp, brown eyes and coal, black armor clinging to broad shoulders with a sword hanging loosely at his side. A gloved hand extended with hopes that Yuri will take it. And Yuri wanted to, but…

“Overwhelmed?” The man chuckled. “Not surprising, you’re far from home, aren’t you Fairy?”

Yuri nodded. “I’m looking for someone. The Fairy Prince Viktor. Have you heard of him?”

The Hero’s thick eyebrows rose into his mop of hair, before falling back down and drawing that gasp into a scowl. “What business do you have with him?”

“He was to teach me how to fly,” Yuri explained, his face lighting up with hope. Maybe this man will take him to Viktor. “Will you take me to him?”

“The Fairy Prince Viktor is dead. It is better if you return to your mountain at once, Fairy,” the man said, harshly.

Dead?! How?! No! That’s not possible, Yuri refused to believe that this journey was for not. Especially after almost being eaten by those enormous cats. No. He was going to find Viktor and this man was going to help him.

“No,” Yuri spat as climbed onto his feet and stared into those lovely brown eyes. “I will not return until I find him!”

The man stared back, unwavering. Then with a deep, resigned sigh and the handwork that could have only been that of a knight, the hero drew his sword and Yuri’s world went black.

 

* * *

 

 

“Oh, Yuri, are you alright?” Mila fluttered around him with her eyes glassy as he awoke, in a bed? Bolting upright his eyes soaked in his surroundings. This was his room, but how did he get here? He looked down at himself. He was no longer in torn clothes or drenched in blood but his head felt like it was split like a boulder. “You got hit with the blunt of that sword pretty hard, though, the claw marks are shallow.”

Yuri nodded as he ran a finger over the bandage covering his arm. It was only then did he notice another one covering his hand, brushing his other fingers against it stung like lightning. Whatever laid underneath would not be something he worried about now.

Somewhere deep inside he had an inkling that his safe return was of the help of that Hero. That brave and handsome hero. His hero. A smile pushed its way into the cheeks of the Fairy, it made him blush and almost want to giggle.

“Oh I see, that man that brought you back made quite the impression on you, eh?” Mila smirked.

“Shut up, Hag!” He cried, sliding back down between his warm sheets and covering his face. He refused to let Mila see how humiliated he was. He was just one man, even if he was kind and brave. He may have brought him home, but he was no one. He would be no one as their paths would never cross again. Even if Yuri hoped they would.

Mila’s boisterous laugh could be heard all the way to the other side of the Mountain. Where the King, Yakov, sat on his throne with thought lines crinkling his face and a scowl on his lips.

When Yuri was returned home several days ago he was in a fit of rage and a bout of relief. Thrilled that the young one had not been harmed, but thoroughly distraught with Yuri leaving in the first place, and secondly, of the human who had brought the boy home.

“Thank you, for bringing him home,” Lilia, his Queen, had said with a warmth Yakov was certain he’d never heard before as she took Yuri out of the Hero’s cradled hold. “What is your name, sir?”

“Otabek, a Knight of the Ice Castle Hasetsu, my lady,” He says, dropping to one knee in respect. “I am certain Prince Viktor would not have wanted to see harm come to this young fairy.”

Yakov scoffed. “Viktor was horribly fond of Yuri while he was here. Promised him all sorts of trivial things.”

“Yuri…” Otabek smiled to himself. “Yes, that sounds like something our Prince would do.”

“Now, in return, Knight of Hasetsu, how can we reward you for your chivalry,” Yakov asks with suspicion.

“The legend goes that when you capture a fairy you get one wish, is that true?” The Knight inquires to the The Mountain King.  
  
Harsh eyes narrow at the Hero. “Yes,” he answers, gruffly. “And what is your wish?”

The Knight smiles with fondness as he looks down at the gentle, sleeping features of the beautiful fairy resting in The Mountain Queen’s arms. “I’d like to make the Fairy, Yuri, mine someday.”

Both Yakov and Lilia share a look before looking down at the young fairy. Barely old enough to fly he was asked to be promised off to some knight. A knight of former Prince Viktor... Young Yuri would be taken care at the very least, Viktor would see to that unless this knight was lying. Though, that seemed like a very unlikely scenario as so few knew of Prince Viktor’s certain endeavours.

“Very well,” Yakov said. With a wave of his hands a swirl of snow rose from the ground as the air sparked hues of blues and yellows leaving Otabek in awe. It was fairy magic at work, powerful at that, as it conjured a binding to both him and young Yuri. Sparks burned away at his right, gloved hand searing a painful mark into the flesh. Yuri didn’t stir as the sparks burned the same insignia into his flesh as well.

“You will come for him in five years,” Yakov declared. “And no sooner. He is still young and has much to learn before he joins you.”

“Very well. I will be back in five years,” Otabek says, firmly, extending his hand in a friendly shake. His own confirmation of the binding of their words.

And so, the Hero Otabek travelled back down the mountain he felt determined. Five years before he had see those beautiful, piercing eyes again. It felt like a lifetime but he will wait and was certain that it will be worth it.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter deviates heavily from the main pairing but bonus, you get some Vikturi! Thank you everyone who has left comments and kudos and bookmarks and are subscribed to this fic, you have no idea how much this means to me, oh my goodness, I never thought I’d ever write something so well received. Ever! Thank you, thank you, thank you!! Also, thank you to my friends who beta'd and held my hand, you're irreplaceable! 
> 
> Find me at oiks-kawa@tumblr, i like to post previews!

 

* * *

 

 

Five years can be either be a long time, or a short time, depending on who defines it. For a human, fives years is a large chunk of their lifetime, where one can go from the end of their adolescence to the cusp of their adulthood. It could make or break someone’s experience of love, or spark bitter, long-lasting feelings of resentment. For a Fairy, fives years is the equivalent of a human’s minute, and truly not enough time to learn all there is about magic, flight, and the conditions to all their spells. Regardless, five years is still a long enough time to cause unwarranted chaos between the harmonious nations of the Realm.

It had been two year since our Fairy, Yuri, and Otabek, the Knight of Ice Castle Hasetsu, last met. And very little had changed in that time, especially for the Fairies, in particular one by the name of Anya. She lived other side of the mountain, her home looking over the park where many young Fairies played. She watched sitting in the dense snow of her front yard as the young fairies frolicked and giggled as they practiced their spells on one another below. Then challenged each other to see how high their wings will take them before they feel weak. However, with great fondness, she watches as they awkwardly flirt with one another and search high and low for a place to hide to practice their equally awkward kissing.

At only 290 years old, she never thought she’d see the day where she would grow frustrated with the fairies’ long life span.

Anya knew she was in desperate need of something different. Having long grown out of her adolescence, she was free to leave the Mountain when ever she wished. But the caution remained that if she were caught by a human, her captor could request one wish that she was obligated to be filled. That wish, potentially turning her mortal. Right now, that wasn’t starting to sound so bad.

 “Anya, my dearest, are you alright?” her lover called from behind her, unexpectedly. Startled, she looks back at the man standing in the snow behind her. She hadn’t heard him leave the house.

 Her lover, Georgi, was probably the most boring aspect of it all.

 When they were young fairies Georgi used to be fun. He was more susceptible to antics, pranks, and those secret rendez-vous the young Fairies partook in. However, he wasn’t like that anymore. As the years passed, he settled into his role as a Prince of the Mountain. It was a miracle in and of itself that King Yakov had let him live outside of the Palace, especially after what happened with Prince Viktor ten years ago. He's kept a tight leash on his royals since then.

 Though, Georgi, being the loyal and dutiful Fairy that he is, follows King Yakov’s requests to a tee, and frequently returns to the Palace to perform his Princely responsibilities. This meant, on those days, that Anya had her freedom to do as she pleased.

 “Just observing, my love.” She smiled that sugary sweet smile she knows he loves so much. Pivoting on the balls of her bare feet and with three long steps, she was nose to nose with him. Anya leaned in and rubbed the tips of their noses together before she pressed a chaste kiss to his lips.

 It wouldn’t be Georgi if he didn’t take it a step too far. Having grabbed her by the waist, roughly, and pulls her in for a deeper, harder kiss full of teeth and discomfort. She didn’t kiss back.

 Another reason she had grown so tired of this place, he never knows when it was too much. It used to be endearing, the romantics - the conjured up flowers and the passionate kisses that could go on and on, but it had become too much now. After all, they aren’t young fairies anymore nor were they free to indulge in such charms. They were royalty and that was not how royalty was meant to behave.

 With a shove on his shoulders, Anya managed to wedge space between the two of them. Her brown eyes peeling open to find him staring back in awe, it was sickening. How could he not realize that isn’t what she wanted anymore?

 “I love you,” he said, adoringly.

 “I love you too,” she affirmed, but only to him. He would grow suspicious if she even hesitated, let alone fail to answer his sentiments. As monotonous as this life and his love is, she did not want to get on the bad side of him.

Being groomed as a Prince meant far more than just the privilege of receiving a title, he is gifted with learning to control his magic and cast spells from King Yakov himself. The Princes’ were known for their knowledge of powerful, fearful, and permanent spells. Couple this extensiveness knowledge and his bursts of passion and Georgi had the potential to create some very marvelous yet, very disastrous combinations.

Anya touched her lips to the corner of his mouth before she turned her attention back to the boisterous noises of the children coming from the park. She settled herself on the edge of their property, letting her long white legs dangle over the lip.

“I’ll be at the Palace tomorrow,” He reminded her as he sat beside her, resting his head on her shoulder, as he too dangled his legs over the ledge. “I’ll be there for a few days actually, King Yakov wants Mila and I to help out Yuri.”

“You mean the boy that got bonded by the human?”

Georgi nodded. “The King wants to fast track him a bit more. Do you believe it’s already been two years since then? It feels like just yesterday that the Knight came claiming he knew Viktor. What a hoax.” He laughed. “But, oh, how time flies.” 

“I’m getting a bit hungry, would you like anything for lunch?” Anya asked. 

“Anything my Anya makes is wonderful,” he beamed as he lets her get up. She waited until her back is turned towards him before she scrunched her nose. She was in grave need of something other than him, from Fairy talk, from snow, from the politics of the Mountain. 

But what could she do, where would she go? Then, all of a sudden, it hit her. She knew exactly what she wanted!

 

***

 

He was gone by the crack of dawn, and so was she.

The advantage of being an older Fairy was the ability to use your wings, it made everything so much easier. Particularly, the journey down the Mountain. Leaving at dawn did not mean she would arrive at mid-day like one would had they perused on foot. But by mid-morning just as the sun had fully awoken from the East and made the snow down the winding trail glimmer like ice. 

It was beautiful really and made the Mountain look even more gorgeous when her sandaled feet touched down on the gravelly pathway. What a difference a few feet made. The air was not as crispy and fresh but, was warm and the breeze that blew through the trees of the Jungle hugged her like a blanket. It made travelling through the dense canopy very tempting but, after the dispute with that Yuri boy, she was not in the mood to become a snack for some hungry cats. 

Though that left Anya wondering which of the other two roads to take. One took her out far past the East side of the Mountain and into a sweltering desert and towards the family Crispino’s vast City of Gold. Named appropriately for the way the sun reflected off the city’s buildings make it appear as if it’s made of gold. 

However, down the second path lay vast and rolling, luscious green Hills filled to the brim with wild animals and the cozy feeling like you were home. At the edge of the Hills belonged a gorgeous, shiny city of silver with it’s buildings almost as tall as the Mountain and mystifying trinkets - it’s almost as if the humans had harboured their own type of magic. The forefront of this city rests a rather strange castle, Casa LeRoy, as it doesn’t quite fit in with the whole city behind it, nor quite the Hills before it. 

Anya had several days before Georgi would return, she could have visited both. She did have a sturdy set of wings, however, Anya never made it past the Hills. 

As she had travelled through them she was taken back by just how expansive and gorgeous they were. Little yellow flowers popped their heads between the thick blades that looked as soft as the snow back home. She found herself thoroughly tempted by the inviting open space, what it would feel like between her toes. 

Giving into the urge, Anya swooped down to a particularly colourful patch of the Hills with flowers of purples,yellows, and pinks. With a heavy stop, she stood there and took a deep breath. The air was vastly different here than that of the Jungle or the Mountain, it was refreshing without being crisp or muggy. 

She took off her sandals one at a time and placed them carefully beside her. The balls of her feet touched first, then her heels. Unmoving, she turned the nose to the sky in another inhale of the sweet air. The grass was thick and cold and tickled the soles of her feet making her giggle like she were a hundred years younger. Taking one step, then another, then a leap and a jump and next thing she knew she was twirling and dancing just enjoying the new sensations her body felt as it made contact. 

She could live like this forever! 

“My, it’s not everyday you see a Mountain Fairy prancing about,” came a voice sweet, rich, and smiling. 

Anya froze. With a burst of her wings, she bolted straight up into the air putting several feet between her and whoever it was that called out to her. Peering down, Anya realized it was a woman on a horse. A incomparably beautiful woman, that even a Fairy’s beauty could not rival. Her skin was pale as snow, lips as red as blood, and eyes as blue as the ocean. Wrapped in a deep purple and gold cape Anya presumed she must be royalty. Beside her was a man, a plain man in thick armor and a sword at his side. A knight? What would royalty be doing in the middle of the Hills? 

“Won’t you come down, I won’t harm you. I am merely curious and would like to chat,” the woman calls loudly. 

Anya did not move, she knew better. Just because a human says they will not harm doesn’t mean they won’t. They were greedy above all else and, when a Fairy had so much to offer in comparison, it was best to be wary. 

“My name is Queen Isabella Yang-LeRoy. Please, Miss Fairy, won’t you come down?” The Queen called. 

LeRoy? What could _she_ possibly want with a Fairy, she already had everything she could possibly desire, no? What good would a Fairy do? Or maybe she really did mean just to chat? While it is against their laws to share the magic King Yakov bestowed onto the Prince and Princess’, Georgi had taught her some less harmful defensive spells. Ones more harmful than what was taught to the greater Fairy population on the Mountain. 

With a deep breath, Anya slowly floated down but not enough to land back on the ground fully. She wanted to be sure she still had the choice to fly away if one of them made a grab for her. 

“What is your name, Fairy?” The Queen smiled with all of her teeth, dismounting her horse. 

“Anya,” she answered, timidly. 

“How pretty, it’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m Queen Isabella and this is my knight, Dmitry,” she introduces, extending her hand. To accept the greeting she has to be on the ground. Scowling and with a thumping heart, Anya lets her feet touch the cool grass once more and shakes the hand of the Queen. It really is a miracle they don’t snatch her up right away. 

Though, there was a peculiar look in the Queen’s eyes as she stared down at their joined hands. Turning them over, her thumb brushes over the purple lines on her hand. Her binding marks to Georgi. 

“What are you doing out here?” Anya snapped, couldn’t help but let her curiosity get the best of her, royalty, really did not leave their cushy castles for any reason. 

The Queen laughed as she took a seat on the thick grass below. “I love my husband, very much, but he is working on this project and I cannot handle hearing him shout “it’s JJ Style” right now.” 

Anya looked at her puzzled, not sure what that meant. 

“You have a partner, don’t you, Anya?” 

“How did you know?” 

“The Eros bonding mark on your hand.” The Queen giggles. Very few outside those gifted with magic or bond themselves knew of the love contracts Fairies shared with one another. To have the Queen of a kingdom without magic know of such a thing was remarkable. 

“So, then I’m sure you know all about it. Needing space.” 

“Yeah,” Anya replied, pushing a stray strand of dark hair behind her ear, exposing her flushed cheeks. “I-I do.” 

“Then why don't you tell me about your lover,” Isabella suggested as she patted on a spot beside her. This time Anya didn't resist the Queen's invitation, she even did it with a shy smile. “If you’re travelling this far, it must he must have really done something atrocious.” 

Anya laughed, a tinkling laugh, making her so embarrassed she hid her face in her hands. But her hands didn't stay there for long as the Queen gently pried them off her face. 

“There is nothing to be ashamed of. Love isn't perfect all the time.” 

“That's not... I know it's not perfect. I just never thought I'd be invited to have conversation about Georgi with the Queen of LeRoy.” 

“And I never thought I'd be in a position discussing relationships with a Mountain Fairy,” Isabella agrees. “Everyday gives us something new.” 

Anya shrugged. 

“I bet since you've lived so long you have wonderful relationship tips?” 

Anya laughed again, getting used to the idea of how she sounds in a world so different from her own. This was nice. Really nice, even if it was a bit peculiar. That didn't matter though, she wasn't going to get captured or judged. They just needed a quiet space, and that was okay.

 

***

  


Mid-morning became mid-afternoon which turned into twilight. Anya had barely noticed the change as she spent the day in that same spot on the field talking and laughing with the Queen and her Knight. 

Isabella had even offered to share the lunch she had packed with her, which was the most surprising of all. Anya would’ve never thought she’d meet a human in all her years that was so gracious and kind. Even Dmitry, carefully watching the horizon, was also kind and thoughtful and laughed along with them. He didn’t seem so plain after that. 

As hues of purple and tints of yellow blended into the twilight sky Queen Isabella turned to her with a solemn expression. 

“It’s getting very late, did you intend to head back to the Mountain for the night?” 

Anya hadn’t put a lot of thought into where she would sleep tonight, maybe come where up in a tall tree or that little farm house at the furthest edge of the Hills overlooking the ocean. Offering the Queen a shrug did not seem to please her.

“I insist you stay with me at my Castle for the night. We have plenty of extra rooms. You can even leave at dawn if that suits you.” 

Anya scrunched up her nose and stared back at the Queen with scepticism in her eyes. A Fairy, staying in a human’s home? Regardless of the friendship the two had seemed to form this day, the situation was still dripping with the possibility to being captured and bound. The Queen must have sensed that because before saddling the horse she reached out to Anya like before. 

“I will not harm you, nor will my King. I will even have Dmitry here keep watch of you for safety. Now, please, Anya, will you stay with me?” Isabella pleaded with those blue eyes, shining with sincerity with the last rays of sunlight. How could she say no to such earnest? 

With a resigned sigh, Anya closed her eyes and spread her wings to their full span before folding them over in on themselves and, using the invisibility spell, she hid them away. Every Fairy is taught this spell at the cusp of their adulthood when they are allowed to travel down the Mountain. 

When she opened them, she is met with the sparkling eyes of her new friends in awe. 

“Yes?” 

“T-that was...magnificent!” Dmitry stuttered as his slackened jaw strengthens and grin settles onto his face. Anya felt the apples of her cheeks suddenly become very warm. No one had ever said that to her before. Why would they? This was a norm for the Fairies, they have all watched each other practice this spell. No one had ever looked more extraordinary than the other when doing so.

 Hiding her face in her hair and covering her flush from Dmitry’s view, she saddled up onto his horse behind him and grips his waist. He was to take care of her after all, it only made sense for her to arrive at the castle already under his care. 

The journey back was silent though not free of sly smiles and side glances from the Queen as she gestured from Anya to Dmitry. Anya just shook her head, dismissing the Queen’s teasing. Human’s developed crushes on Fairies all the time, it was really nothing special or worthy of a Fairy’s time to even acknowledge. Sometimes it made for a good little bit of fun, but nothing warranting more than just a whimsy. Plus, she had Georgi and as much as she had grown tired of his love Anya would not betray him like that. Would she? 

Georgi was so very far away and word getting back to him about this little crush would be quite slim. Really, what is the harm in having a little fun on vacation? Have a secret little rendez-vous with a human. Smirking Anya wrapped her arms tighter around the Knight in front of her and pushed her cheek into the armour hugging his torso. 

The Queen gave a snort as she snapped the reins on her horse, encouraging it to go faster to give them some privacy, Anya supposed. The thought sent a gripping electric shock through her veins and had her heart racing with new found adrenaline. 

If this is what humans sought when they wished to recapture their youth, then Anya had learned something a little more about humanity today. What a refreshing feeling, how much she had not realized the dull ache her life had caused her until now. This was it, this is what she needed. 

Lifting herself ever so carefully off the saddle, Anya leaned forward, closer into Dmitry. With parted lips against his ear she breathed, “Faster, my Knight.” His back straightened and hands jerked as he almost loses control of the reins, swerving the horse off the winding path only for a moment.   

“Y-Yes, my lady,” he stammered again, encouraging the horse to gallop faster with nudge of his heel. The wind flowing through her hair even felt different as they flew down the path. Anya couldn’t help the boisterous, exhilarating laugh that pushed past her lips. She was no longer ashamed of her place, of a Fairy’s place, in the world outside of the Mountain.

When the sun finally dipped below the horizon and the moon rose high into the midnight sky, the Fairy and her Knight cozy up between the sheets and make sweet, exhilarating love. All night and well into the the next morning. 

Neither Anya nor Dmitry see beyond the chamber door for the next two days.

 

***

 

On that fourth day, Anya made several mistakes. Some of which she wasn’t certain of, but some she was - she returned to The Mountain, to Georgi, and to the static life of a Fairy. 

For a silly little tryst, she sorely missed Dmitry. His soft brown eyes and sharp jaw, the feeling of his stubble along the palm of her hands. His calloused hands caressing her gently, the careful touch of his lips to hers, the way he asked her which spots she’d like him to ravish; something that Georgi had never asked before. Truly, a knight through and through. 

Anya also missed the vast greenery of the Hills. The warm breeze as it blew through her hair and the feel of it between her toes. She missed the smell of the freshly baked bread Isabella had packed for her picnic that day, the way cheese melted on her tongue, and the crunch of the sweet yet sour apple. She missed the way Isabella laughed at her tart expression, the way she gushed profusely about King Jean and the amount of times she insisted Anya just call him JJ. 

She tried to mask her despondency, but her efforts were for not. More and more was Georgi called away to the Palace, and more and more did Anya crave to descend the Mountain once more. Maybe it was her increasingly long looks she took over the vast ridge of the Mountain, or maybe it was Georgi’s genuine guilt that had him answering her secret wish. 

“I feel like I’ve neglected you too much lately, my love, and that will not do,” Georgi said with that grinding pomp and a sad smile one night as they lay in bed. “How about tomorrow we go on a trip, for the day, down the Mountain. Just us. No talk of the King, Yuri, or any of my other princely duties. How does that sound?” 

“That sounds nice.” She could feel his smile as it pressed into the back of her neck as he held her that night in bed. 

“Where would you like to go?” 

“The Hills,” she suggested, a little too abruptly causing her heart to leap in her chest. Hopefully he hadn’t noticed. 

He hummed into her neck, that smile spreading wider as he squeezed her tightly. “I’ve never been. Sounds delightful.” 

It sounded more than delightful, so much so that Anya could not sleep a wink.

 

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

 

 

 

In the fifty years that they have been together, Georgi found himself more in love with his Anya every day. She was so beautiful, kind, loving, loyal, and so wonderfully patient with him. Particularly after he got his letter from King Yakov eleven years ago, requesting he attend an audience and banquet in recognition of being chosen as the next Prince to represent the Palace. 

Since then he had always found himself incredibly busy, leaving their quaint little home on one of the furthest corners of the Mountain to attend excruciatingly arduous lessons in spellcraft, the conditions of their magic, etiquette, and the diplomatic policies of the Realm. 

What always kept him going was the bonding mark on his hand. He would look at the deep purple winding line between his knuckle and the first joint of his middle finger as it trailed down the vein on the back of his hand to loop around his wrist. Thinking all the while of his Anya. How she is waiting for him at home, with the same mark on her own hand, claiming her as his. And in all the ways he would ravish her in unabandoned affection, over again as she screamed his name in pleasure. 

Lately though, he's been called to the Palace more and more what with that boy Yuri Plisetsky being brought back by the man who claimed to be a Knight of Viktor’s. It still mystifies him that Viktor would wind up as some Prince in another kingdom. If he was so determined to keep his title why not just stay with them? 

Either way, Georgi felt that he’d been sorely neglecting his Anya. It wasn’t as if he hadn’t noticed the look of despondency on her face in the last few weeks. Such an irresistible face had no business being so sorrowful. This trip would be good for them, maybe put that smile he loved so much back on those scrumptiously plump lips of hers. 

Though, something seemed off.  Something he couldn’t quite put his finger. It was as if the air felt different, thick and sticky, even the clouds looked dense. A storm? Thankfully, if he could feel it at this altitude, it would take quite some time to make it’s way down to the remainder of the Realm. They had plenty of time to explore before the rain came down. 

Just as he predicted, the sun was shining and the cloud cover was white and wispy. It had been such a long time since he’d seen beyond the walls of the Palace let alone the world below, it felt good. 

Very little had changed, the Jungle may look a little more unruly and the dirt path a little more walked on but nothing like he didn’t remember. Yet it was odd, he’d never been so far to the Hills in all his 300 years, only as far as the Desert and back. How curious. 

He expected Anya to lead the way to The Hills, but she seemed to fly cautiously behind him. Grasping her hand he pulled her beside him before touching a kiss to those pale cheeks he loved so much. 

“Is everything alright, my love?” He asked, a hint of a smile tugged at the corners of her lips. 

“Yes,” she answered, but her eyes said otherwise. 

“Are you sure?” He always encouraged her to tell him when something was wrong as he always wanted to help see that smile again.”We can go back if you like?” 

“No! Please, let’s keep moving.” This time, she did pull him forward and lead the way down the path. Her hair falling in her face as they travel with purpose through the stretch of breath-taking Meadow before the Hills. 

He could never have imagined a space with so much unsullied green. Not even summer on the Mountain, which brought tufts of sunburned weeds between the cracks in the rocks or through the dirt of winding path halfway down to the base, came close in comparison. 

“Anya, this is -” He started before he felt the weight of her hand leave his, and slowly he watched her descend down to the field below. “Anya!” 

“Georgi you have to come feel this,” she called up to him once she landed, kicking off her sandals, letting her feet sink into the grass. Her eyes sparkled in a way he hadn’t seen in a long time. How could he not want to join her, even if it did give him the same peculiar feeling as before. 

Looking up at the sky, the white wisps of cloud from hours ago had begun to accumulate and turn looming gray. Then came the rolling sound of thunder. This wasn’t good. Fairy wings weren’t built for humidity, rain, and definitely not lightning. 

“We need to go,” he insisted, slowly fluttering to the ground. “It’s going to storm.” 

“Oh, but Georgi, how fun would it be to say we spent the day playing in the rain?” She cried, dancing towards him and grasping his hands in hers. Again, flashing that smile of hers that clenched at his hopeless heart. 

“Anya, please, we need to head back before we can’t fly home,” he pleaded. She yanked her hands from his, that smile dropping into a scowl as her eyes turn hard. 

“Typical of you,” she scoffed. “I thought this was about us, Georgi? I thought you were going to leave your duties behind and be with _me_?” Her chin turned up and he can see tears bubbling in her big brown eyes. 

She shoved him away, putting every ounce of her strength to fly herself off the ground and head further down the path towards the Hills. 

“My love, this-” As his fingers reach out for her he felt a wet drop land on the tip of his nose. Then another. And another. 

Spreading his wings he follows her trying to catch up but his Anya had always been too quick for him. She had always been known for her speed and grace, even as a young fairy in training. It was a few of the many things that drew him to her. 

The little droplets turned into a torrential downpour in a matter of minutes making it nearly impossible to fly much further. Not only because he could no longer see, but his wings were soaked! But he would not give up, persistent in finding his Anya before the thunder started. Or worse, the lightning. If a bolt caught even the tip of a wing….Georgi did not want to think of how painful the loss of a wing or even half a wing would be. It would cease the essence of being a Fairy. 

Luckily, he found the dark waves of Anya’s hair bounce as she flew into a small forest. He pushed himself harder, following her in through the arched entrance of the thick foliage. He would not give up until he knew she was safe in his arms, protected by his magic. 

Though, this would protect them for a little while, at least until their wings wrung out. 

He lands on the soft forest floor, but that bounce of curls is no longer in sight. Of course she would be as swift on her feet as she would in flight, that was his Anya. With pride in his stride he walked along the muddying, dirt path looking left and right for the curves of her wings. 

“Anya,” he called loud above for the birds to scare and to hear over the rain. “Anya!” 

No reply came. So he kept walking down the path, but this time with purpose. It was only when he came to the mouth of the road did he find her. 

Frozen right then and there she doesn’t appear to have heard him call to her. She didn’t flinch when he came up to put a hand on her shoulder, much too preoccupied by the lake that’s before her. Better yet, who was across it. 

“Isabella,” she whispered under her breathe. Georgi followed her line of vision to the figure that stood in a beautiful gown on a patch of muddied forest floor just before the lake. The woman’s  hands carefully stroking the manes of the horses as they drank. 

“Who?” 

Anya looked back at him, finally noticing him there. “Queen Isabella. She’s my friend,” she said with an unmistakable gleam in her eyes. 

Turning toward the figure on the other side, she took off with another push of her dampened wings to the other side of the lake. The Queen seemed to have noticed them with a start, but the began to wave furiously as she called out to Anya with joy. 

It was painful to watch the way Anya would come dangerously close to the water then force herself back up on wet wings. All this for a _human_? When had she become friends with a human, anyways, and a Queen no less? And when exactly had this human become so important for her to abandon her common sense? Didn’t she know she could be captured, manipulated for her wish? 

Georgi didn’t move, just watched with mild curiosity as his lover threw herself at the Queen. Anya wrapped those delicate arms around the Queen’s neck and the Queen caught her, with perfect timing, and swung his Anya around. Like he used to. 

Something covetous churned within his chest. Is this his punishment for neglecting her for so long? She falls in love not only with a human but a woman as well? His right hand balled into a tight fist. He knows love when he sees it, has been certain of what love was for fifty years now. Was _certain_ of their love. 

Unclenching his hand he glanced down at the deep purple bond that they share. Would his Anya really give all they had for that woman? He was being ridiculous, he needed more faith, that’s all. His Anya wouldn’t leave him. There was no reason to leave him. He gave her anything he could ever ask for, including the title of Honorary Princess just by being his lover. Nothing the human could offer would trump such prestige. 

Scoffing at his own paranoia, Georgi glanced back up to where his Anya should have been. But all that stood in that spot of the muddied floor was the Queen. 

Hurriedly, he searched the vicinity desperately trying to spot her. Even just a strand of those wavy tresses of hers. But again, he had lost her in the blink of an eye. 

White hot panic surged through his veins as he kicked off the ground and flew across the lake in three long strides. Not caring about the pouring of the rain or the thunder that rolls in the world around him. His urgency seemed to get the Queen’s attention from where she was absently staring between a clearing in the trees. 

He stopped within an inch of her nose, and shouted vehemently, “ **Where is she**?!” 

“Georgi,” Isabella gasped, tripping over the hem of her dress. 

“Where. Is. She. My Anya,” he seethes. The first crack of lightning sounds above the treetops. “What did you do with her?” 

“I-Uh.” The Queen’s sparkling blue eyes bubble with tears as her eyes dart back to that set of trees. With a wave of his hand, Georgi had the Queen sinking into the damp floor of the forest like quicksand. Confident that she was trapped, Georgi shot over with a gust of his wings to where the Queen’s anxious eyes remain fixed on the clearing. 

He could see the tips of her wings poking past the bark as he flew through. “Anya,” he sighed with relief as he rounded the corner. But he had failed to notice the gauntlets amongst the foliage and sheen of armour that glistened with rain falling through the trees. 

Georgi was so focused on Anya. His lovely and wonderful Anya, that he was stunned into silence when he caught those plump red lips being kissed by another man. A human knight.

The way her lithe body pressed up against the trunk of the tree, her arms wrapped around his neck. The way her fingers weaved in the Knight’s shaggy, brown hair, her eyes closed, and the corners of her mouth turned up in a delightful smile. 

Georgi never considered what it would feel like to have his love ripped away from him like this. To have it shatter so suddenly with the shards of his glass heart piercing through every rib. Every bone. Setting every nerve on fire! His muscles ache and laxed as they could no longer hold him up. Falling to his knees he wrapped his arms around his body, tightly, hoping that the pressure would be what kept him together. Since when had he become so pathetic and fragile? He was a Prince. More of a Prince than Viktor could ever be and he was but ash in a matter of moments?! 

It may have been the thud he made when he hit the ground, or pathetic whimper that passed his lips, that pulled Anya’s attention from that man to him. 

“Georgi,” Anya said, removed. “I can explain.” 

She can _explain_ ? White hot anger surged through his veins, sparking blue tendrils of magic from his fingertips. And what would she have to explain, that she didn’t mean to kiss another man so lovingly? Is this why she wanted to come out to the Hills, to see her _human_ lover?! 

How dare she. After all this time. After all he's given her, how well he's treated her! This is what he gets in return for his love?! Picking up his head, Georgi looked her straight in those big, soulless eyes of hers. Did she plan this, mean for him to catch them? But why? Why would she want to hurt him like this… 

This reeked of human plot, such selfish unfaithfuls always trying to fill their lives with meaningless drivel to quench their fears of mortality. Their ideas of love so fleeting, like they would know what true love looks like. What it feels like. What it means to truly be bound to another. 

His cold, blue eyes lift sharply and stared into her unremorseful brown ones. They then glimpse over to the knight who looks like a scared little kitten trying to be all tough with his sword in his shaking hands. How easy it would be to cast a spell on him, turn him into the swine that he is for what he's done to his Anya. To him. But this man is just a man with no real power, a pawn the royals send out to fight their battles. 

The Royals. Anya had said they were friends after all. 

Georgi lifted himself with new found resolve and headed to where Queen Isabella remain unmoved in her shackles of dirt and foliage. Another crack of lightning sounded overhead and he could feel the electricity in the moist air mold with the magic in his veins.

“Wait, Georgi, don’t,” he heard Anya cry from behind him. But he did not cease in his pursuit. Once again, he came nose-to-nose with the Queen whose expensive garb was soaked through from the pouring rain and caked in mud. 

“This was your idea, wasn’t it,” he sneered, fingers curling at his side as they conjure up the perfect curse. “That my Anya betray me for this...this _knight_?! You intended to capture her, make good on her Fairy wish, didn’t you?!”

“N-No! It wasn’t anything like that! Please don’t hurt me,” The Queen sobbed as tears poured down her snow white cheeks. How beautiful she was, how much she reminded him of his Anya. 

“Oh. I won’t hurt you, per se. Not in the traditional sense, no. I want you to hurt differently. Have you ever considered adulterous acts against your King?” He posed, as another roll of thunder powers above them. 

The Queen jumped and shook her head. “I love my King, madly and deeply. I would never.”

“You liar!” He shouted, the surge of his magic sparking in hues of yellows and blues from his hand. “A woman who knows true love would know the terror of betrayal!”

“Georgi, please!” Anya begged as she grabbed his hand and tried to drag him away. Snapping his hand from hers, he pushed her aside, no longer interested with what she had to say. 

“No! This woman will be cursed. Forever recalling with whom she exchanged vows and pledged her life to. Maybe then she will learn what it means the next time she chooses to endorse an affair!” Georgi declared.  
  
With another crack of lightning and bolts of purple and gold illuminating the sky the world changes.

  
  
  


 

* * *

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


King Jean-Jacques, best known as King JJ, of Casa LeRoy was … a lot of things. 

His Queen would tell you he was a kind, warm-hearted, and generous man who cared deeply for his subjects. He would even personally visit the soup kitchens in the cityscape behind him, give to the poor, and open his doors to the homeless men, women, and children during the coldest winter nights. His subjects would tell you how they loved him wholeheartedly and thought him to the King of the Realm. 

The rest of the Realm they would say how they hoped the King would just remain quietly remain within his vast empire. As he was an obnoxiously proud King who let the unconditional love of his kingdom get to his head. Though the worst part, according to the other Royals of the neighbouring kingdoms, was when the King felt the need to publicize his love and generosity at the Grand Banquet every year. Providing the other Royals with gift bags of the latest trinkets he had designed, all with his initials carved front and center into them. As if the wealth of the other Kingdoms were miniscule and irrelevant to his, as if they were more of his subjects in need of his _charity._  

Quickly, did JJ learn that treating himself as a King among Kings was a grave mistake. 

The day he learned this was the day his Queen left on another picnic on the Hills. She had silently hoped she’d reconnect with her Fairy friend and tell her the wonderful news she could not shared three months ago. As the Knight Dmitry saddled the horses, King JJ had seen her off with a long, passionate kiss, a pat to her belly, and wishes for a safe return.

With his hands on his hips he watched as his Queen, their unborn child, and her Knight rode off down the gravelly path. The sky was clear and earnestly full of hope and JJ was certain his wife would meet her friend. Maybe this time, he’d get to meet her too. 

Once they were far out of sight and well beyond the treeline of the nearby forest, he strode back into the depths of his castle where his expansive workshop lay hidden behind a heavy door. He remained there well into the afternoon, drawing and redrawing designs trying to perfect his latest creation. 

He wasn’t aware when the weather took a sudden turn for the worst. Only when one of his guards came panting into his workshop with the news of his wife’s return was he aware that something was amiss. 

When he slid into the doorway of their chamber he found Isabella beneath the covers of their bed, shivering and wet, but thankfully with a nurse who was filling a hot water bottle beside her. 

“Isabella, are you alright? What happened?” He asked, worried as he grasped onto her pale, frigid hand upon falling to his knees beside her. 

His wife’s crystal blue eyes flutter open, accentuating the exhaustion that plagued every corner of her face. Especially in that smile he loved so much, that was now tinted blue and shaking, barely turned up in its usual gleam. 

“JJ,” she called, so lovingly it almost broke his heart. Gripping his hands with what little strength she had, his Queen brought them up to her lips to give his knuckles a kiss. If he wasn’t certain he was crying before, he was definitely now as he could feel the tears roll down his cheeks and off his chin. 

“Bella, what happened?”  
  
“JJ,” she said again. “JJ JJ JJ.” This time tears falling down her own cheeks.  
  
“Yes, darling, please don’t cry. I’m right here, but please, what happened?” 

“JJ JJ JJ JJ,” she continued to repeat, frustration crinkled at the edges of her eyes and pull her jaw taut. Then, her own tears began falling, fast and heavy and his name came out in a litany between hiccuping sobs. 

Confused, the King had turned to the pained, downcast faces of his castle’s staff. It was then that he realized this was not an act of coyness but a serious problem. Isabella’s speech was not in her complete control anymore. His thoughts swirled as he contemplated what had happened out on those Hills, had she fallen from her horse and hit her head? Then a new wave of fear struck him. How would this affect his unborn child?!

JJ felt his body begin to shake with rage as it simmered and bubbled beneath his skin. “Someone tell me what happened this instant!” He demanded. But his staff had stayed silent, eyes still refusing to meet his. Throwing his wife’s hands onto the thick duvet, he stood and roared. “NOW!” 

“A-A curse, my King,” Isabella’s handmaiden stammered. “A Fairy curse, one quite powerful as it was cast by a Prince, Sir.”  
  
“Viktor?!” The King inquired, accusingly. From the corner of his eye he saw his Queen’s head shake in negation. “Then who?” 

“The Fairy woman whom had come with my Queen said the Prince’s name is Georgi.” 

“And where are these petulant Fairies now?!” He bellowed. 

“The Fairy woman said he’d have flown back to the Mountain by now,” the nurse said. “But the woman herself disappeared with the Knight Dmitry after we brought the Queen in.” 

“Someone find them,” JJ barked. “Make sure they are captured alive. I would personally like to see the Knight hanged for his incompetence. And that fairy woman, I will make good on her wish to see that she dies as well.”  
  
“JJ,” Isabella called to her husband, grasping his hand. Her eyes pleaded with him more than her words ever could. Of course, the Fairy was her friend. 

“Just capture the Fairy alive and leave her in a cell,” JJ amended with a sigh, but it pleased his wife. The last thing he wanted to do after such a trying and unfortunate day was cause the love of his life undue harm. 

The guards and other staff left without further instructions, already fearing their own lives for any negligence they may face for not being able to track down the rogue Knight. 

Weeks had turned into months which had turned into years, the knights of Casa LeRoy searched high and low for the vagabonds that hurt their Queen but they had no such luck.

In the meantime, he tried everything to break the curse. Every piece of magic from the hidden depths of his kingdom to that of the Crispino Twins’ across the Desert. But none were enough, each as useless as the last. 

Until one day, two years later, his court had managed to find the Knight and the Fairy hidden on the outskirts of the Realm in a light house by the ocean. Surprisingly, the pair had seemed to know they were living on borrowed time as neither refused to go with the other Knights of Casa LeRoy back to the castle. 

As promised, JJ was present - front and center, when Dmitry was hanged for his crime of abandonment. And for the Fairy, while he promised he would not kill her, he did not promise not to make use of her wish. Or for her not to suffer. 

He had her wait weeks in the cell before he spoke to her. One he had specially constructed and doused with spells and counter spells just for her within the corner of his workshop. To keep her contained and behaved as he refused to let her out of his sight, his reach, or his control. 

Finally one day, he turned to her shivering, shaking, and starving body - still clothed in the thin Fairy garb they found her in - he speaks, “What is your name, Fairy.” JJ stared at her darkly from where he stood squarely on the right side of the bars.

“A-Anya,” she stuttered.

“Anya, I’d like you to grant me a wish.” 

She glared at him beneath her long lashes. “And what is it that the King desires that is within my powers?” 

“I wish for you to reverse the curse on my Queen.” 

Anya scoffed. “The Loudmouth King really has a head full of straw. I said, within my powers. While the wish is powerful, it cannot undo the curse of a Prince. Especially not one of Georgi’s. You would have to find him yourself to have it removed.” 

“And what about Viktor?” 

Anya stared at him, quizzically. “Prince Viktor? He's dead.” 

“So you don’t know then.” JJ smirked, smugly as he took a step back. 

“He can’t possibly help you, even if he's alive,” Anya shouted out to him as the King left his workshop with a slam of his heavy oak door. Climbing the winding castle staircase, his smug grin maintained as he turned to the guard that followed up behind him. 

“When we get back to the top, I’d like for you to arrange for me an audience of the Princes’ of Hasetsu.”  
  


 

 

* * *

 

 

 

 

When the Princes’ of Hasetsu received the letter from King JJ for an audience, they did not reply right away. 

More on the request from Prince Viktor than Prince Yuuri, as he was highly suspicious of sudden desire King JJ had to see them. The Loudmouth King was also not the type to be so formal, often just barging into places demanding his pretense be acknowledged. So they held off, curious to see what the King would do as he waited for his invitation to be accepted. 

“Viktor, what if it’s something important?” Yuuri asked his husband of two years over breakfast one morning. 

“If it was important he would’ve just come here regardless, don’t you think?” Viktor admitted, taking a bite of his eggs with that passive aggressive smile on his face. 

Yuuri sent him a stone cold stare.“You’ve always been hard on him Viktor, he might be loud, but he’s harmless.” 

“Oh Yuuri, always so kind and sympathetic to everyone but yourself,” chimed the voice of Christophe, Viktor’s personal advisor, from the other end of the long table as he played idly with his food. “I agree with Viktor, if the King really wanted to speak to us, he’d be here already. It’s been what, six weeks since he sent us the letter? Shouldn’t he have grown impatient by now if it wasn’t menial?” 

“Maybe he wants to do things formally because he wants something important,” Yuuri mumbled mostly to his food, but his husband and advisor’s sensitive ears have become trained to pick up even the most careful of Yuuri’s thoughts. 

“And what could the King who has everything want from us?” Viktor enunciated, having long grown tired of this conversation. 

Then it hit him, all of them really, at the exact same moment. 

“I refuse!” Viktor exclaimed as he threw his fist down on the table with a loud bang. 

“Curious though, that that could be his reason to see you. It might even be worth hearing him out regardless of whether or not you choose to act upon his wishes,” Chris hummed as he stood from his seat, plate in hands. 

Viktor glowered at his advisor. He didn’t always listen to him as sometimes Chris would OK some of his rather unique ideas, but for the most part he was very trustworthy. Knew better than anyone what Viktor needed. More so than he knew himself so days; it was quite baffling really. This case was different, but the Prince wasn’t sure he agreed that hearing what the King had to say would not be highly insulting. 

Though, like many times before, Chris was right. The King in need of Fairy magic was a rather peculiar concept and even if Viktor didn’t spare a spell it would be worth hearing out why he would need it. To ebb his own curiosities. 

“What do you think, Yuuri?” Viktor posed with a glance to his husband. He was very surprised to see an anxious look on his face blending with flickering rage. 

“Yuuri?” He whispered softly. “We don’t have to do it, it won’t change anything. If you’re not feeling well we can always go back to bed.” 

“I told you to stop that.” Yuuri shook his head and with determination in his eyes as they locked onto Viktor. “We’re going to do it, in three days from now. How quickly do you think we can get the letter to him?” 

“By night fall.” 

“Good.” Yuuri, too, stood from his seat but stormed off leaving in his wake two very bemused men. This wasn’t like Yuuri at all, to take a one-eighty so quickly, but Viktor suspected his sympathetic streak was coming to an end.  
  
  
  


 

* * *

  


 

 

What King JJ loved most about Ice Castle Hasetsu is how well kempt it was, always so clean and fragile it looked. As if it were just for show and not actually the lively home of the esteemed Princes Yuuri and Viktor. 

Trotting slowly by horse up to the main door he is quickly halted by a Knight. His strong jaw and dark brown eyes hard as he stared the King up and down, ungloved hand ready on his sword shall he need to defend the castle. JJ had only smirked at him as he jumped down from his stead, landing with a thud. What an interesting man. 

“Are you King Jean-Jacques LeRoy of Casa LeRoy?” The Knight asked stiffly, eyes relentless in their iron hold. Prince Viktor had informed their staff to be on highest guard when the King arrived and this knight took his job very seriously. 

“I am.” 

“I am the Knight Otabek of the Ice Castle Hasetsu, I will be your escort. Please follow me,” he informed, opening the castle doors for the King. 

He entered without further delay. It had already been six weeks, and two years before that, he had long grown tired of his mute wife and was the utmost determined now to see this curse be lifted.

The King followed Otabek down the beautiful grand hallways of the Castle, filled with tapestries that hung from high ceilings and sculptures - all made of ice that somehow never melted. Someone didn’t have to know that a Fairy was among them to be able to tell that magic ran through the veins of this castle. 

When they arrived at the throne room, the doors swung open on their own and the Knight bowed away to let the King enter with exuberance. The room was packed, just like he hoped, the walls lined with their advisors, nobles, and other prominent subjects. 

“My Princes!” JJ cried as he bounded down the red carpet, his arms open wide. “How long has it been? Six months, a year? My how it looks like neither of you have aged.” 

The Princes in question remained where they were seated on their red, velvet chairs. Their princely garb of dark blues, rich reds, and polished golds draped from their bodies. Yuuri’s hands firmly curled around the armrests, while one of Viktor’s rest lazily against the cherry wood fingers tapping on the rounded edge as the other holds up his head. Neither looked interested in playing his games. 

“You wanted an audience, King of LeRoy, now what is it that you wanted to say?” Viktor posed, lazily, but his blue eyes don’t miss a second as they remain trained on the man sporting a nefarious grin. 

“My wife, Queen Isabella, have you wondered as to why you haven’t seen her at a Banquet in two years?” The King opened up, sparking a hint of concern in Prince Yuuri’s brown eyes. “She was cursed, by a Fairy Prince from the Mountain and she has been rendered unable to speak anything but my name since then.” 

Viktor sat up, a smile on his face. “I cannot see why _you_ would find that a problem.” 

The audience snickered, bristling the King. “A curse is a curse, I’d like it reversed.” 

Viktor’s blue eyes narrowed as he sat up as straight as his partner. “And what do you suppose _we_ could do about that?” 

“Just you,” the King stated, strictly. “The story goes that twelve years ago you left your life as a Fairy Prince in pursuit of a human, our Prince Yuuri to be exact. And in that pursuit, you two fell in love and became bonded to one another. Hence those beautiful gold insignias on your hands,” the King explained, pointing to their right hands. Yuuri immediately snatched his shaking hand off its resting place, hiding it within his lap. Anxiety welling in his eyes. 

“When a Fairy bonds with a human, they become mortal, and in some cases lose their wings and magic. However, that’s not true is it, Viktor,” he drawled, causing something chilling to crawl up Viktor’s spine. “You’ve still retained your powers, haven’t you?” 

Viktor did not speak, as the room gasped and fell eerily silent just before the whispers started. 

“The Prince of the Katsuki reign falling in love with a Fairy? How absurd? How could this be? How impure!” The nobles had sounded in their hushed tones to one another. 

It was one thing want to corner Viktor, expose him and humiliate him, strip him of what he'd worked for within the Kingdom of Hasetsu these past twelve years all for a little bit of magic. But to cause his Yuuri this kind of grief is unforgivable. 

He just stared coldly back at the smug King and bolted from his seat, ready to take his step down the red,velvet carpet when Viktor feels a hand on his arm. Frigid and trembling, Viktor follows the hand up to the face of his Yuuri. No longer soft and round, but hard and full of purpose. 

“I am sorry to hear about the curse on Queen Isabella,” Yuuri’s voice cut through the whispers like a hot knife. “And while Viktor once was a Prince among Fairies, he is only a Prince among the people of Hasetsu. No more mortal and magical than the rest of us. So, please don’t insult us with your lies.” 

The crowd fell silent once more, all eyes trained on the young Prince with his hand grasped tightly around his partner’s then towards the lonely King that stood in the center. His face void and mind blank. This was his last hope, what can he do now? 

“JJ, the Fairy that cursed her, do you know their name?” Viktor inquired, carefully. The King regained his composer enough to answer. 

“Georgi.” 

Viktor tried not to laugh. Georgi, as creative and over dramatic as ever. “He's quite gifted, even the strongest magic among the Mountain’s Royalty would have trouble removing it.” 

“So, what should I do?” The King asked, helplessly. 

“It is best for you to scale the Mountain and ask Georgi himself to undo his spell. I’m sure that whatever the circumstances the curse was put under, can be overlooked,” Viktor said, his hand still gripped within Yuuri’s. “Is that all you wished to say today?” 

Distraught, the King nodded as he turned on his heel to head back towards the heavy set doors of castle entrance with thoughts of a new journey having to be embarked on. 

As he trudged along the long red, velvet carpet the King didn’t miss the knight Otabek was his dutiful two paces in front guiding him down along to the doors. It was if it was by fate that the King catches the same gold insignia on the Prince's’ hands also on the hand of this Knight. 

“Fairies, pretty little things, but the devils in disguise, aren’t they?” JJ quipped, idly, drawing his eyes away from where he noticed the mark. Though it appeared as if the Knight had not heard him, or chose to ignore him, feigning to keep his eyes ahead. 

“I bet yours is no different. Cursing the world and back to get what they want,” JJ pushed. 

Suddenly, he found himself crashing right into the heavy armour of the knight who had stopped short in front of him. Having taken one step back, and rubbing at his sore nose, JJ then found himself within an inch of the glowering Knight. 

“Do _not_ speak another untrue word of him,” Otabek said, darkly. 

Shocked and a little scared, but also mildly intrigued the King threw his hands up in defense. “I was just kidding, relax.” 

With a grunt the knight resumed to walk two paces ahead of the King until they reach the castle entrance moments later. The King and the Knight exchange no pleasantries as JJ mounted his horses and headed down the path back to his kingdom. Before he journeyed up the Mountain he’ll need a few things. 

On his way home, he couldn’t help but think.The King knew the Princes’ were lying, but how to convince them to help him if all else fails?  The King then thought of the mark on the Knight’s hand, all gold and swirled. How fresh it looked and the Fairy that the other insignia belonged to.

  
He wondered if Prince Viktor knew the Knight’s Fairy. With another man in his court bond to his kind JJ was certain Viktor must know. With a newfound energy, the King rode home faster as the pieces of his plan worked themselves through. He would reverse his Queen’s curse, and Viktor was going to be the one to do it, with the help of the Knight Otabek’s Fairy.

 

* * *

 


End file.
